Our Story

Alysia first spied a picture of Al on the college's message board, partyapp.com, and thought he was pretty hot. A couple months later, Al's roommate Collin invited Alysia over after a class they shared. She introduced Collin to partyapp (as seen in this picture) and he introduced her to his geeky roommate, Al aka AceoStar. They hit it off as friends, and that's how it stayed for a while.

There they were, at what was quite possibly Boone's 2nd biggest* party ever, Josh's 21st birthday. Some big dumb guy pushed Alysia and some other girls out of his way as he walked through the room, and Al didn't like that very much. Long story short, Al tore a 6-foot fence down rather than jump over it, and knocked some better sense into him. Oh, the things that impress a young girl. After everything calmed down, Alysia cleaned Al up as best she could and the party went all night. The next morning, the first thing he did was give her a kiss. And then he bought her Bojangles.
*The biggest ever was at Seth's house, where there were so many people on the back porch that it broke!

Back when the NCRF was still a thing, and was held at the Raleigh Fairgrounds, Alysia dragged Al along and claimed it as birthday present. She was surprised he agreed, because this was before they were officially an item. It ended up being a fun time for both of them. Alysia's mom made Al's peasant so shirt so he'd fit in, and eventually even made him a kilt a couple years later! It was a random plaid, but he loved it and they still have it. :)
The coolest part about this particular ren-faire experience was that it rained heavily for a few minutes and they had to take cover in gypsy shop. The shopkeeper asked them if they were a couple and they said no. She said, "Well, don't worry, you will be," and she was right!

It was April, and Al was getting ready to graduate. He and Alysia had been seeing and fighting and making up with each other for two years now, and it was all about to be over. Until it wasn't. He knew he'd be leaving Boone, but that didn't mean he'd have to be leaving Alysia. They said they'd make it work, no matter what lay on the road ahead.
This picture is from the drive to Snake Pit waterfall, the best place in Boone to nurse a hangover among friends and nature.

The beginning of a new chapter. Al chopped off all his hair and was gearing up for a job interview all the way in Kansas City. To relieve some of the stress, they went to an awesome graduation party, where Alysia won a flip-cup battle of the sexes and Al congratulated her with the most loving of body slams to show that men were still the strongest.
Not long after this, Al found a job in Greensboro, and for the next two years, they were only able to see each other every other weekend and for holidays. But thanks to the internet and cell phones, they were able to make it work. It sucked, but it was worth it.

We got a kitten! Miss Mia Wallace, a fluffy little gray thing that Alysia had to have the moment she saw her crawl to the side of a friend's bed and fall off the edge like a doofus. She's a whole lot bigger now, but unfortunately not a whole lot smarter! :P

When Alysia got a job at a nearby animal clinic, she swore to Al that she wouldn't bring anything home for keeps. But when she fostered a sickly little kitten that started having seizures, they knew keeping her was the only option. And when they discovered that the male kitten they were fostering would bathe & comfort the little she-kitten after a seizure, they knew he was a keeper, too. Splitting them up would have been too sad. So then there were four. The Als were outnumbered and unsure how to handle it.

After a few years in an apartment and a few years in a townhouse, the couple decided that it was time to buy their own house and stop throwing rent money down the crapper. They had 4 cats who were just not happy being cooped up in a townhouse with too few windows to look out of. With bank accounts already jointed, it seemed not a huge leap to go ahead and share a mortgage, too. It took over a year of searching, and the most patient (no really, we viewed at least 40 houses) and friendly Realtor ever - Debbie Allen of Allen&Tate, if anyone is looking for a recommendation - to finally find The One, but they did it, and the cats are much happier!

Because, at this point, why not? Al took Alysia completely by surprise, though, because she'd all but given up hope. It didn't happen at Christmas, and if it didn't happen by their 9th Anniversary in April, she vowed never to think about it again. Luckily, she didn't have to wait that long. It would have happened at Christmas, but the ring came late. It happened on December 30th, a complete non-holiday, so a complete surprise. For the full details, check out our Proposal page!

We decided that after having the same anniversary for the past 9 years, we ought to just keep with tradition. We thought it would be special to get married on our 10th anniversary, which would make keeping count a whole lot easier.
When we looked at how much a wedding would cost, we realized that it would cost about as much as the trip to Scotland we've been fantasizing over for the past 5 years. So we decided to combine the two. We'll be signing the legal documents here in North Carolina, just to keep things simple, but the ceremony will be held at Loch Coruisk, in the Isle of Skye, in Scotland.
It's a beautiful spot in the middle of nothing, accessible only by boat or strenuous hours-long hike. The loch is surrounded by the Black Cuillins, mountains which are the remnants of an ancient volcano. We'll basically be standing in what was once the magma chamber, the heart of the volcano. We're looking forward to coming home with some great pictures, both of the ceremony, and of the local seal colony!
We regret not being able to have our family and friends there in person, but we know you'll all be there in spirit.